Weekend Hot Topic, part 1: Will you buy Xbox One?

GameCentral readers take stock of Microsoft’s surprise U-turn over used games on the Xbox One and discuss whether it’s changed their plans to buy the console.

For this weekend’s Hot Topic we wanted to know whether your position on the Xbox One has changed, now that it doesn’t have any used game restrictions or 24 hour check-ins. What was your initial reaction to the news and were you surprised by it? How did it make you view Microsoft as a company and has it made it easier or harder to decide which next generation console to get?

The response to the news, and to Microsoft, was still largely negative with many claiming they had lost faith in the company and its vision for the Xbox One. But despite this attitude many also admitted that they would take a wait-and-see approach, with few willing to rule out the console if had a sufficient number of exclusives they were interested in.

Small change
My position on the Xbox One has changed slightly. It was gone from very unlikely to buy one to maybe buy one once it has a few games I want. (Same as the Wii U then.)

Sony’s past machines have always been reportedly more powerful than their launch competition but it never seems to pan out that way in reality. So I do not fully believe the current rumours. If both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One were equal on price and specs then Sony would still have won me over with PlayStation Plus. That service has been incredible recently.

In the last year Sony has not put a foot wrong with public relations and Microsoft seem to be permanently unbalanced, stumbling from one PR disaster to the next. As the PlayStation 4 is cheaper, Microsoft are going to have to pull out something huge to make me cancel my PlayStation 4 pre-order and quite frankly I do not think they can.PazJohnMitch

Bully tactics
The Xbox One launch was such a toxic, bewildering mess I’m reluctant to give Microsoft my money even now they’ve seen sense. Or rather they’ve been forced to see sense. The company charged into the fray like a playground bully, tried to force us to accept mean-spirited and restrictive concepts, and then they were utterly beaten by the former school bully.

Now they have been humiliated and conquered, like most bullies Microsoft suddenly want to be our friend. If they dropped the price and had some killer launch games I might consider buying one of their machines.

However, it’s hard not to feel the new Xbox has been serious tainted by a breathtaking display of bad communication and arrogance.msv858 (Twitter)

Download time
After the news of Microsoft dropping the mandatory online connection and used games restrictions, I’m now having an even harder decision whether to get a PlayStation 4 or Xbox One.

Most of the games I have on Xbox 360 are second-hand games (the cheapest was Enchanted Arms at £4) and I mainly only buy games on release day if I’ve been waiting a while for them (Fable, WWE, etc.). Most of the second-hand games are the disc versions (I bought Kameo for £10 then it was on Games on Demand for £20) apart from a few exceptions (Tales Of Vesperia.)

I’m also hoping that if the games are released as digital downloads as well as retail copies they’ll be the same price, if not cheaper and be available to download on the morning of release as at the minute all downloads on Xbox 360 are available from about 11am. The advantage of this would be that, as games will be about 50GB, I’d be able to set off the download before I go to work and hopefully, it’ll have downloaded by the time I got home.

At the minute though neither console has any games that have been announced that interest me so I’ll be leaving it for a while to see how things turn out.The Conkster (gamertag)/TommyGun17 (Nintendo ID)

Ditching Master Chief
I’ve said on these pages before that this generation I’ve primarily been an Xbox 360 gamer. I didn’t really like the PlayStation 3 and couldn’t see myself changing. But over the last few years, since around when Microsoft released Kinect, I’ve been going off of the Xbox experience. The Gold subscription no longer seemed good value for money, especially when PlayStation Plus has given me so many ‘free’ games. The DRM issues on the Xbox One were the final straw for me.

I didn’t like the online check-in, though this wouldn’t have been a deal breaker. My main concern was not being able to activate and play my games collection in the future when Microsoft decide to end support for the machine.

I am glad they made the U-turn on their policies, but it’s a case of being once bitten, twice shy. The PlayStation 4 looks to be more powerful, has not got Kinect, and there is connectivity with my PS Vita, which I love.

So I’ll not be getting an Xbox 180 for a few years until the price has dropped drastically. I’ll miss Halo games, and some of my Friends List that don’t migrate to PlayStation 4 though.EvilMoomin

Messy fence
As far as I can perceive, Micro$oft have done themselves even more harm by backtracking than if they had tried to stay the course. If they had the courage of their convictions, they should have been able to sell their new vision to gamers and new media(?) consumers alike. No one complains about the closed eco-system of the iTunes Store, do they?

Their PR for this exercise has been a complete shambles. If they had done things right, and made it so that games bought online were guaranteed cheaper than retail, as well as the benefits of game sharing, then they could have been looking at a winner. Instead they are left looking stupid, and without an apology or any assurance the future will be better for consumers, who is going to trust them now?

What is to say, for example, that in a couple of years into the life of the Xbone, they don’t try and implement all their original plans? And, why do they insist on having the Kinect system as an integral part of the system without the obligatory killer app?

Again, if they had demonstrated that Kinect wasn’t just there for system control and spying on you in your underpants whilst you play Call Of Duty, then gamers could have warmed to it and finally started to see the benefits. And with Sony not putting a camera into the PlayStation 4, game developers are far less likely to take advantage of Kinect/Eye features because it will take time and money to cater for things that gamers may not use. I fear that Kinect will now end up as no more than a fancy media remote control.

Even after the backtracking, most people that I speak to with regard to next generation consoles are now much more likely considering the PlayStation 4 route if only because the issue of trust has been breached by such a massive corporation that should know better. For myself, I have decided to sit on the fence for at least a year or two and wait for the dust to settle. This one could get messy, and fast…ZiPPi

Unfortunately good news
It’s with a heavy heart I must say that my position on the new Xbox has indeed changed, not only because if the DRM reversal, but because the game line-up is looking as impressive as that of the PlayStation 4, indie titles notwithstanding. I’m still planning to buy the PlayStation 4 first but now I’ve to find another 480 bucks for an Xbox and game, and that’s just the beginning.

I bought the Xbox first this gen but at the moment I can see benefits to both and although I have much larger outgoings due to being a grown up these days (don’t tell my girlfriend I laid claim to that title), I suppose I have more disposable cash too. Maybe the next 5 to 6 months will persuade me one way or t’other, but I have a sneaky feeling all it will bring is more reasons to own both.Robbie
PS: What platform does GC think will be announcing more exclusives in the coming months?

GC: We have no way of knowing for sure, but Sony certainly seemed to be holding more back at E3 than Microsoft did.

Who’s watching?
I remember reading about Microsoft’s entry into the console market years ago and its reasons for doing so. Sony was doing very well with its own console and Microsoft feared that their operating system would eventually become obsolete with Sony consoles dominating the living room. As a result Microsoft entered the console race with their Xbox hoping it would eventually become the centrepiece of people’s living room and it would enable them to control the living room with their own hardware and software.

It therefore did not surprise me when they introduced the Xbone with their emphasis on multimedia and control. What surprised me was the company’s apparent ineptitude with the console’s launch. Microsoft’s executives have given conflicting accounts of the console’s restrictions from the beginning, without explaining their reasoning. And this coupled with breathtaking arrogance and dismissive comments about their core consumers has been very damaging to the Xbox brand. I have no doubt Sony would have done the same if Microsoft had encountered no resistance to their proposals.

I am thinking of buying a PlayStation 3 soon and then purchase the PlayStation 4 in a few years when it’s cheaper and there are some good quality games available. I will not however buy the Xbone, not just for its anti-consumer rhetoric but also because I do not want a camera you cannot switch off connected to the Internet pointing into my sitting room 24/7. Imagine someone hacking into the system at any point (remote attacking) and watching everything you do in the living room.RavStar

Quick change
Let’s be honest, as soon as Sony said they wouldn’t have any additional DRM then it was only a matter of time before Microsoft dropped their restrictions. Not even a company as conceited as Microsoft could think they would get away with them. The only thing that surprised me was the speed with which they backtracked.

Obviously Microsoft had painted themselves into a corner and wanted out of it as soon as possible, but there are ways and means of doing it. Instead of portraying themselves as a company that listens to its fans, they have only shown their true money grubbing nature in a stronger light. Had they waited, say three weeks, then listing to fans would have carried water as a legitimate reason. For me this reeked of desperation.

I have it on good authority that pre-orders in America were well below what Microsoft were expecting. I’m talking Windows 8/Windows Phone disaster levels here. I’m sure Microsoft didn’t think they could handle any more bad press, or hand any more initiative to Sony, but all they’ve done over the last month or so is alienate their hardcore fans and make themselves look weak. A little backbone would have gone a long way in the long run.

Anyway, will I be buying an Xbox One? No, for three equally important reasons. Firstly, I don’t rate Microsoft’s exclusives as much as Sony’s and Nintendo’s, so that’s of no concern. Secondly is the cost. £80 more for an inferior product is one thing, but it’s the reason it’s more money that’s the deal breaker for me: Kinect being mandatory. If it worked then fine, no problem. But it doesn’t, and I’m not convinced it ever will.

I know why Microsoft are going with Kinect (it’s hard to argue with 24 million sales), but this is a horrific mistake. The argument that once everyone has one it will get proper games doesn’t wash with me. I’ve not seen one game that looks like it offers anything worthwhile. Even Ryse, despite what Crytek say, looks like it’s a never-ending series of quick time events.

Once again always-online and DRM has been a storm in a teacup. Although an understandable one, I’ll admit. But the truth is that for most people, in the markets Microsoft care about, being always-online is not a major issue. It’s a draconian limitation not a serious problem, but one that’s stupid nevertheless. The main issue should be that the Xbox One’s unique selling point makes the console not only more expensive, but noticeably worse. As the tagline almost goes, nothing is better with Kinect.andy_b720 (PSN ID)